Re: Croc classification (was Re: Sarcosuchus and Dumbing things down)

["Steve Salisbury" <steve_salisbury@bigpond.com>]

>From: "Demetrios M Vital" <vita0015@umn.edu>
>To: "Dinolist" <dinosaur@usc.edu>
>Subject: Re: Croc classification (was Re: Sarcosuchus and Dumbing things down)
>Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2001 12:26 PM

>> Whose 'we'?  Not me.  I'll use which ever system I think is most
>> appropriate.  And for purely taxonomic purposes, the Linnean system wins
>> hands down.  Phylogeny is something else.
>
> What's the purpose of a taxonomy that doesn't reflect phylogeny?

Taxonomic categories are one of the many possible sets of pragmatic classes
among which organisms, both fossil and extant, can be distributed.  The main
purpose of any classification is to aid the process of distinguishing
between perceived, systematic categorisations.

At a primary level, phylogenetic presuppositions do not need to form part of
the abstraction process associated with identifying taxonomic categories.

Steve


---------------------------
Steve Salisbury

Palaeontology and Geology, Queensland Museum
PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Q 4101, Australia

www.Qmuseum.qld.gov.au